Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 450 Coppola's Tip
"Another record industry giant joins Hollywood".

On the "News" page of "Daily Variety Show", there is a corner, which is the news that the new film of "Jerry Weintraub Production Company" officially announced the joining of the new director.

"Jerry Weintraub is ready to bring his talent to Hollywood. He revealed to this reporter that the cutting-edge director Ronald V. Lee will join the crew of 'The Dragon King' as the director. It is reported that , he is also the screenwriter of the film."

"Hailed by Stanley Kubrick as one of the most up-and-coming directors, Ronald Lee, a dropout at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, directed Universal's 'Fast-paced Richmond' High School', and small production 'Night of the Comet'.

This is the first time he has the opportunity to direct a 750 million big production.Mr. Jerry Weintraub said he admired Ronald Lee's talent and keen insight into teenage audiences.

Mr. Weintraub told this newspaper that the story of the film is adapted from real events. He said that "The Dragon Boy" will be an action romantic comedy that will be loved by young audiences. "

Ronald folded the newspaper and put it in his collection box.The day before yesterday, together with my agent, I went to sign a director contract with Weintraub.A total of $20 director salary, plus a [-]% profit share.Not counting the bonus part, it is about the same as my screenwriter's remuneration.

However, this kind of profit sharing is generally an honor clause for directors and actors, and most of the time, no one can get it.This is not the same as "Night of the Comet" where Ronald himself invested part of the money.

What Ronald valued was that the film had a maximum budget of 850 million US dollars, of which 100 million was a reserve fund. If it was not enough during the filming period, it could only be used after Weintraub signed it.

Moreover, Weintraub signed a distribution agreement with Columbia, so the marketing and distribution of "Longwei Kid" are not a problem.As an established studio, Columbia must be more secure than Atlantic in this respect.

Ronald remembers the day he signed the contract, asking Weintraub what he thought of Pat Morita playing Master Miyagi.Weintraub said categorically that Pat Morita was out of the question as long as he was a producer.and declined further discussion.

Ronald had to put this matter aside for the time being, and talked with Weintraub about the casting of several other major roles.

The male lead is confirmed, and the second generation of stars will not be cast as the leading role.Weintraub has asked Susan to send out audition invitations to major Hollywood brokerages.But because all the young actors are now going to audition for "Red Dawn", the audition for "Kid Longwei" has to be postponed.

The heroine is a vase type of character, as long as she's a pretty girl with a girl-next-door vibe, the kind that Danny can fall in love with.Ronald privately recommended Helen Slater to Weintraub.

After seeing the audition photos from the agent, Weintraub said that he could go directly to the second round of auditions, wait for the actor Danny to be confirmed, and audition together to see the chemical reaction.

Master Miyagi is of Japanese descent, which is quite special.I have tried my best to find all the Japanese and Chinese actors in Hollywood to audition.I also asked Ovitz from CAA to bring some pictures of actors who can speak English to the Japanese film industry.

Ronald remembered Avelson's reminder that when Francis Coppola was looking for Marlon Brando to play Corleone in "The Godfather", he also faced strong opposition from the top management of the production company, but in the end he did it anyway. became a thing.Moved the idea of ​​coming to learn from the scriptures.

Coppola is very busy. His second film adaptation of Hinton's novel "Betta Fish", which he shot in Oklahoma, has finished editing and is about to be released soon.This time, instead of going through Warner Bros., I used my own "Diorama" company to do the distribution. It was a very busy time.

Fortunately, Nisita is also Coppola's agent. After his phone call, Ronald was able to pay a visit, and Coppola agreed to give him half an hour to chat.

"Hey, Ronnie. Why, I heard that you have something to ask me?" Coppola's complexion was much better when he was on the set, and the box office of "Urchin" was not high or low, with more than 500 million US dollars.After the release, Warner Bros. shipped some of the copies in good condition abroad and began to screen them overseas. It is expected to receive another 1000 million copies.

This gave Coppola's name back credibility after the disastrous box office failure of "Old Love, New Love".Studios began looking for him to direct again.Renowned independent producer Robert Evans is also approaching Coppola to discuss the project.

"I won't waste your precious time. I have something to ask you. How did you mobilize the top management of Paramount to use Marlon Brando when you made 'The Godfather'? I encountered similar I would like to borrow your wisdom, Francis."

"Marlon Brando," Coppola adjusted his glasses, "it's a long story, would you like some salami? My friend brought it from Europe. A glass of red wine? It's from my estate. "

Coppola poured Ronald a glass of red wine, then lit a cigar, and slowly recalled the events of the year.

"At that time, Brando's reputation was very bad, and several films in a row had accidents. He was a very smart person, and sometimes he would get angry and stop acting when he met a poor director. So when Paramount heard it, I thought If you use him, you will immediately reject it."

"Oh? This is very similar to what I encountered." Ronald took a sip of the red wine, "This wine tastes very good, even better than the one at the Oscar dinner last time. I'll buy a case back."

"Of course, the climate in this year is very good. If I were you, I would buy more."

"Then I told Nisita that it tastes really good."

"By the way, the president of Paramount at the time told me that I was forbidden to mention Marlon Brando's name, and it was forbidden to discuss him as the Godfather."

"How can the discussion be banned?" Ronald felt that Coppola must have some tricks. Under such circumstances, he could finally let Brando play the role. It seems that this time he came at the right time.

“I just lay on the ground, pretended to pass out, and protested. What kind of creative freedom is it if Brando is not even allowed to mention the name of an actor? They promised me creative freedom at the time. "

"Hahaha..." Ronald was delighted.

"My trick worked. Mr. President immediately gave in and said that I could mention Brando's name. But it is impossible to hire him." Coppola then drank some red wine, chewed a piece of salami, and smoked Take a sip of the cigar.

"I fought with them for a long time, and finally Mr. President said that Brando could act, but he had to agree to three conditions.

First, he had to act with zero pay.

second must accept audition
Thirdly, Marlon Brando had to pay a $100 million security deposit. If his misbehavior on the set caused the filming to be delayed, he would be deducted from the $100 million. "

"How did you make them give up such a harsh condition?" Ronald was curious. It was impossible for any actor to agree to such a condition.

"I immediately agreed and said yes." Coppola laughed loudly, "You have to remember, these producers are all laymen. They said this just to show their power, they can decide some things.

As long as Marlon Brando agrees to play, and I think he is the most suitable candidate, as long as the person who really has the decision-making power nods, the final conditions will be modified. "

"Oh", Ronald nodded and said yes, this is a key, he has to study hard.

"It was impossible for Brando to audition, so I called him and said there was a part for him, but it was Italian, so I wanted to go to his house and ask him to do some improv, to get a feel for it.

Malone is a smart guy, of course he knew it was an audition.Like a Japanese ninja, my man quietly walked into his house and set up the camera.As soon as he arrived, he understood what was going on.

He is a great actor, so I hate it when the director discusses with him how to act.I never directed him how to act, and I brought him some salami, and chino chips, and marinara, and put them on the table.

That way he would be at ease and willing to audition for me. "

"So he auditioned in the end?" Ronald picked up a slice of salami and ate it with red wine.This thing is good for drinking.

"Yeah, Brando just woke up from a nap, with long blond hair, walked into the living room, and he was 47 years old.

He had read the 'Godfather' novel and knew I was auditioning.So he immediately combed his long hair and tied a bun at the back of his head.Then took a box of shoe wax and made the exposed hair black.

He was very spiritual, and he told me that Vito Corleone was shot, and that kind of person is very soft-spoken.Then he murmured softly, 'Mmmmmm...'.

He added that Vito was old and his cheeks would fall off.He took two more tissues, rolled them up and put them in his mouth, "Eh, uh, uh..."

I don't know what he's talking about, but I think the acting is awesome. "Coppola imitated Brando's inarticulate performance method, vividly.

"And were they convinced by the audition?" Ronald asked.

"No, it's not. Ronald, you gotta be flexible sometimes. Bad guys in this business.

I got the audition footage I needed, turned it into videotape format, and then I did a little trick, instead of showing it to the president of Paramount, I flew to New York and gave it directly to the president of Gulf West, the parent company of Paramount Charlie Bruhnhorn looks. "

"I told him that it would only take 5 minutes of his time, and he promised to watch the video."

At first Mr. Bluehorn was very reluctant and said to me, "No... no... no..." Then the picture came to Brando dyed his hair black, put a napkin in his mouth, and finally in a weak voice,' Hmmmm...' while muttering.

Charlie Bluehorn immediately grabbed my hand, "Francis, that's great!"

"That classic character was born."

After listening to Coppola's narration, Ronald was very helpful.Sometimes, don't argue with the producers. They often don't know what the director is thinking, so you have to use actual images to convince them.

The other thing is to find the right people and show them the right clips at the right time.

CAA also failed to find a suitable actor of Japanese descent. Ronald still agrees with the professional vision of director Avelson.He thought for a long time, called Nisita of CAA, and asked actor Pat Morita to meet privately.

Pat Morita is a typical Japanese, small and polite.He grew up in America as a second-generation immigrant.It also fully accepts American values, so the name is completely Western-style, with the surname Morita (Morita) at the back and the Western-style name Pat (Pat) at the front.

"Hi, Ronald. So I still have a chance?" Pat Morita hasn't had a role since the sitcom "Happy Days."It is the hardest time for an actor.And since he is of Japanese descent, there are no suitable roles except for specific episodes.

Ronald chatted with him about his views on the role of Mr. Miyagi.Evelson is right, Morita is indeed a good fit.He spent several years in a concentration camp with his parents during World War II.And he himself was rescued by the well-meaning church, who treated him for polio free of charge, and there were no sequelae.

This mentality of resentment and gratitude towards America is simply a replica of Master Miyagi.Except that he is a little younger than "Miyagi Chengyi", but this is not a problem under makeup.

"I agree with Mr. Everson, but your appearance is not good, you have to make some changes.

First you have to grow a beard.Master Miyagi is ostensibly a repairman who lives alone, he doesn't pay much attention to appearance, you have to grow a messy beard, like a single person.

Second... your English is too good. "

(End of this chapter)